German eco-housing work a guide for others ; real estate expertise helps promote the sector

Britta Rolle explains how her work in sustainable rural development led her to identify the need for real estate services and related expertise around the buying, selling, building and renovating of eco-houses.The twin challenges of increasing incidence of allergies among people and the problems of energy-inefficient homes and their contribution to atmospheric pollution linked to climate change has increased demand for more environmentally sustainable housing.Germany is among the leading countries in eco-housing, having been among the pioneers in the field. Britta says its long track record means the price differential between conventional houses and those that are more energy efficient and built with less environmentally damaging or noxious materials is narrowing.While the use of conventional plastics and such like has improved energy efficiency in homes, it has left the problems associated with such materials, meaning the focus is switching to whole-of-life perspectives on houses, not just individual metrics.